Creating Image Collages in the Asset Manager

Combine 2 to 6 images into one picture without leaving the Asset Manager.

With the collage feature, you can combine 2 to 6 images into one picture without leaving the Asset Manager. You pick a layout, place your images, adjust spacing and colours, and you can add arrows or notes before you save. The collage is saved as a normal image file that you can use in any cBook.

Collages stay editable. You can reopen a saved collage later and change the layout, the images or the settings.

Before You Start

The Create collage button shows up in the selection bar once you select images in the Asset Manager. It only works if your selection meets these rules:

2 to 6 images. If you select more, you'll see the hint "Select 2 to 6 images to create a collage."
PNG, JPG or WebP only. SVGs, GIFs, videos, documents and folders can't be used. If one of them is in your selection, you'll see "Collages work with PNG, JPG and WebP images."
All from one folder. If your images come from different folders, you'll see "Select images from one folder." Move the images into one folder first, then try again.

If the button is greyed out, hover over it to see which rule isn't met.

Opening the Collage Editor

To create a new collage:

Open the Asset Manager and go to the folder with your images.
Select 2 to 6 images.
Click Create collage in the selection bar.

To edit an existing collage:

Select the collage (just that one file).
Click Edit collage in the selection bar or in the file's detail panel.

The collage editor opens with the images you selected, already placed in a layout that fits their number.

Editor Overview

The editor has two steps, shown at the top:

Layout is where you arrange your images and set up the look of the collage.
Annotate is where you can draw arrows, shapes, text and highlights on the finished collage. This step is optional.

In the Layout step, the screen has three areas:

Left: Layouts. All the layouts you can pick from.
Centre: Preview and image tray. A live preview of your collage, and below it, small thumbnails of all your selected images.
Right: Settings. The settings for the whole collage at the top (Output size, Images, Spacing, Corner radius, Background), and Cell settings for one image below.

Choosing a Layout

There are 19 layouts for 2 to 6 images, such as Side by side, Hero top, Grid 2×2, Mosaic or Magazine. Each layout card shows a small sketch of its structure and how many images it holds.

Use the filter chips under Filter by number of images (All, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) to narrow the list. By default, the filter matches the number of images you selected.
Click a layout to use it. Your images move into the new layout in the same order.
You can't use a layout that needs more images than you selected. Those layouts are greyed out.
If you switch to a layout with fewer cells, the extra images go back to the tray. You can swap them back in at any time.

Placing and Arranging Images

Each area of the layout is called a cell. Every cell needs an image before you can save. An empty cell shows "Drop an image".

To place an image:

Drag a thumbnail from the tray onto a cell, or
Click a cell to select it, then click a thumbnail in the tray.

If no cell is selected, clicking a thumbnail fills the first empty cell.

To swap two images: drag one cell's image onto another cell.

To take an image out of a cell: drag it back to the tray, or select the cell and click Remove from cell in the Cell settings.

Images already in the collage are marked with a check mark in the tray.

Collage Settings

These settings on the right apply to the whole collage.

Output size

This sets the shape and size of the finished image:

Fit to images. The collage takes the shape that shows every image whole, with no empty space.
Square (1080 × 1080)
Portrait (1080 × 1350). This is the default.
Landscape (1920 × 1080)
Story (1080 × 1920)

Images

This decides how all images fill their cells:

Crop to fill. Each image fills its cell completely. Edges may be cut off.
Show whole. Each image is shown completely. There may be empty space around it in the cell.

If you've set different options for single images, this shows Mixed. If all images are set to Show whole, you'll see the button Remove empty space: fit output to images. Click it to switch the output size to Fit to images and get rid of the gaps.

Spacing

The gap between images and around the edge, from 0 to 60 pixels. The default is 16.

Corner radius

How rounded the corners of each image are, from 0 (square) to 60 pixels.

Background

The colour that shows in the gaps and around images: White, Light grey, Dark grey or Black.

Cell Settings

Click a cell in the preview to adjust just that image. Its name shows at the top of Cell settings.

Crop to fill / Show whole. Overrides the collage-wide setting for this image only.
Zoom. Zooms into the image from 100 % up to 250 %. This is useful for focusing on a detail.
Focal point. A 3 × 3 grid (Top left, Top, Centre, Bottom right and so on). When an image is cropped or zoomed, this picks which part stays visible. For example, choose Top to keep a person's face in a cropped portrait.
Remove from cell. Takes the image out of the cell and puts it back into the tray.

When the output size is Fit to images, these controls are switched off, since every image is always shown whole. Your previous settings return when you choose a fixed size again.

Images with text

If AI image analysis is turned on for your organisation, the editor recognises images that contain text, such as screenshots, charts or slides. These start out as Show whole so no text gets cut off. The Cell settings show the note "Contains text · shown whole".

If you set such an image to Crop to fill, its cell gets an amber outline and a warning: "Text may be cut off". Click Show whole in the warning to fix it with one click.

Annotating the Collage (Optional)

Once every cell has an image, click Next: Annotate (or the Annotate step at the top). The editor creates the collage and opens it with the annotation tools: Arrow, Rectangle, Ellipse, Freehand, Text, Highlight and Cover (to hide faces, names or other things that mustn't be readable). You can pick a colour and size, and undo or redo.

You can go back to Layout at any time:

If you only change the background or corner radius, your annotations stay.
If you change something that moves images (the layout, output size, spacing, placement, zoom and so on), you'll see "Changing the layout removes your annotations." When you return to Annotate, you'll be asked to confirm with Continue before the annotations are removed.

Saving

You can save from either step.

From the Layout step: click Create collage (for a new collage) or Save (when editing one). The collage is saved without annotations. If you drew annotations earlier, a note reminds you that they're not included.
From the Annotate step: use the save option there to save the collage with your annotations.

The save buttons stay disabled until every cell has an image.

Saving a new collage

You'll be asked for:

File name. This defaults to "collage_" plus today's date, for example collage_2026-10-09.
Format. PNG is the sharpest choice for charts, text and screenshots. JPG makes smaller files for photos.
Save to folder. This defaults to the folder of the images you selected.

Saving an edited collage

You choose between:

New copy. Saves a new file with a new name. The original stays unchanged.
Replace original. Overwrites the collage everywhere it's used in your cBooks. The file name, format and folder stay the same, so all links keep working. You'll be asked to confirm.

If Something Goes Wrong

"One of the images is too small for its cell. Use a larger image or reduce the zoom." The image would look blurry at this size. Lower the zoom, pick a smaller output size, or use a higher-resolution image.
"The collage would be too large. Choose a fixed output size." This can happen with Fit to images and large images. Choose Square, Portrait, Landscape or Story instead.
"The collage service is busy. Please try again in a moment." Wait a few seconds and try again.
"A file with this name already exists in this folder." Choose a different file name.
"The layout of this collage isn't available anymore." The collage can no longer be changed in the Layout step, but you can still annotate it as a normal image.

Step-by-Step Guides

A before-and-after comparison

Select your "before" and "after" images from the same folder.
Click Create collage.
Choose Side by side (or Stacked for a vertical comparison).
Make sure "before" is in the left cell. If not, drag one image onto the other to swap them.
Set Output size to Landscape.
Optional: go to Annotate and add a text label to each side.
Save as PNG.

A screenshot overview without cut-off text

Select 3 to 6 screenshots.
Click Create collage and choose a grid layout, for example Grid 2×2.
Under Images, choose Show whole.
Click Remove empty space: fit output to images so the collage hugs your screenshots.
Set Spacing to a small value and pick Light grey as the background to separate the screenshots.
Save as PNG to keep text sharp.

One main photo with details

Select one main photo and two to four detail photos.
Choose a hero layout, such as Hero top, Hero left or Hero + 3.
Drag the main photo into the large cell.
For each detail photo, click its cell, raise the Zoom and set the Focal point to the part you want to show.
Add some Corner radius for a softer look.
Save as JPG for a smaller file.

Updating a collage that's already in your cBooks

Select the collage and click Edit collage.
Make your changes, for example swap an image or change the background.
Click Save and choose Replace original.
Confirm. Every cBook that uses the collage now shows the new version.